At 24 years old, the electronic artist Vaski—born Alex Brouwer in Savage, Minn.—has already been around the world and back, touring on the strength of his accessible, frenetic, and bass-heavy dance music. Brouwer first caught the attention of the writhing masses when he was just 19, and quickly rose to the top of the heap of…

Iron Range singer-songwriter Paul Metsa’s critically acclaimed memoir Blue Guitar Highway will be adapted for the stage. Jim Stowell—an influential Minnesota writer, teacher, and actor—has adapted Metsa’s 2011 book into Blue Guitar Highway—The Musical. The onstage adaptation will star Metsa himself and will include collaborations with renowned artists such as Willie Walker, Mari Harris, and Sonny…

Patti LaBelle is legendary not just for her singing but for her cooking. When she offered to cook some of her famous soul food for Questlove, he was all in—but, he soon discovered, it wasn’t going to be that simple. He told his story to Okayplayer, which animated the nine-minute tale that features cameos from DJ Jazzy Jeff, Bunny…

Sonny Knight and the Lakers are coming home to Minneapolis with four shows at the Dakota Jazz Club. The band will perform two shows tomorrow, Dec. 18, at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m.; and two shows on Friday, Dec. 19, at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The venue will transform the main floor into a dancing space for maximum…

Is the all-star tribute charity concert the new all-star tribute charity album? It seems so, as yet another has just been booked: a March 28 concert at Carnegie Hall will feature the Roots, Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction, Rufus Wainwright, Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Beth Orton, Steve Earle, and several other artists paying tribute to David Byrne and Talking Heads. It’s the 11th…

From performing in a Jellybean Johnson-produced all-girl band in junior high to singing backing vocals and touring with Caroline Smith, 30-year-old vocalist Yasmina Moore-Foster has already accumulated a long and fascinating musical resume. And although she is just breaking out with her first solo material and playing out under her own name for the first time this year, her…

Corbin Spooky Black has changed his stage name to his real name, Corbin, for his newest collaboration with WeDidit and thestand4rd. With the name change, Corbin has come out with a more aggressive delivery on the new track “Worn.” The angelic voice of Spooky Black still hides in the track’s eerie production, but Corbin ends up…

Ringo Starr and Lou Reed, already Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees as members of the Beatles and the Velvet Underground respectively, will be honored at the Hall of Fame as solo artists on April 18—along with inductees Green Day; Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; the Paul Butterfield Blues Band; Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble; the “5” Royales; and Bill Withers.…

On Saturday night, Doomtree closed out their ten-day #LastBlowoutEver extravaganza with one final night in the First Avenue Mainroom. Playing to one of the most full Mainroom audiences I’ve seen, Doomtree put together a marathon show with two hour-plus sets and an intermission DJed by Fundo and featuring an all-star list of Twin Cities MCs and singers:…

During their recent shared tour, Har Mar Superstar and former child actor Macaulay Culkin of the Pizza Underground made a habit of locking lips on stage while covering the Association‘s “Never My Love.” Most fans understood the makeout sessions to be just part of the show, but the National Enquirer decided that clearly Culkin and Har Mar must be gay.…